Younes launches Active Women

Tottenham Hotspur Foundation celebrated a &pound;160,000 funding give from Sport England to encourage women from disadvantaged communities to get more involved in sport and physical activity.

Tottenham Hotspur Foundation celebrated a £160,000 funding give from Sport England to encourage women from disadvantaged communities to get more involved in sport and physical activity.

Younes Kaboul was a special guest as Active Women was launched at Broadwater Farm Community Centre, Tottenham.

Active Women will benefit women aged 16+ from disadvantaged areas across Haringey, Enfield, Waltham Forest and Barnet with the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation offering activities such as badminton and exercise and dance, as well as helping women to develop the skills to take advantage of volunteering, coaching and employment opportunities.

The programme will be managed and coordinated by Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, with the recruitment of a new Active Women's Community Officer for three years. A project steering group will be established across each individual Borough to ensure a partnership approach to the programme and support and resources through local sporting and skills organisations.

It is one of 20 projects backed as part of Sport England’s £10 million Active Women campaign to tackle the gender gap in sport. It aims to encourage women with children and those from disadvantaged communities to play more sport as part of the drive to deliver a mass participation legacy from London 2012.

Figures published by Sport England in December revealed the size of the gender gap in sport. At present, one in eight (2.761 million) women regularly play sport in England. Whilst this has increased significantly in the past five years, it still trails behind men’s participation, with one in five (4.176 million) taking part. Women from disadvantaged communities play even less sport, with less than one in 10 women taking part.

The programme was developed in consultation with local women who identified a need for inclusive activities and sports, along with mentoring, training and education workshops. With new hub sites established, women will have the opportunity to access 36 weeks of sport, physical activity and education workshops at each site, along with mentoring support and exit routes to local sporting clubs and organisations.

Additional funding and in-kind support has been provided by Haringey, Enfield, Waltham Forest and Barnet Councils Sport and Leisure departments to create a £210,000 three-year programme.

"On behalf of Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, I am thrilled that we have been given the opportunity to deliver a project as part of Sport England’s Active Women programme. Our project is an innovative three-year programme targeting highly deprived areas across Haringey, Enfield, Barnet and Waltham Forest. The new programme, targeting over 1,000 women, will be co-ordinated through the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation and key partners, and provides opportunities for women in disadvantaged communities to take part in sport, physical activity and education.”

"I am delighted at Sport England's announcement that the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation were successful in receiving funding for three years to enable this new opportunity for women in North London to take part in an active and educational programme. Tottenham Hotspur Foundation are passionate about providing opportunities to the community and offer a wide variety of sport, education, health and inclusion programmes. Active Women will provide a new offer in the community and through effective partnerships Tottenham Hotspur Foundation can deliver an innovative programme to women who may face barriers to participating.”

Jennie Price, Sport England’s Chief Executive, said:

“For many women with children or those managing a tight budget, sport – and time to themselves - can slip down the list of priorities. The projects we’re funding today have asked local women what is stopping them from getting involved and what sports interest them, before coming up with an offer that is appealing and accessible.”